Friday, September 19, 2008

Free Stanford University Engineering Courses Online

Stanford University has followed the example of MIT, by providing some course materials freely available online under the banner "Stanford Engineering Everywhere". Stanford are using a Creative Commons license, allowing reuse and modification of the material. This material could be of use to those preparing courses elsewhere or wanting to self study. However, like MIT's material, these are not e-learning courses and assessment is not included. The materials are essentially the lecture notes and videos of lectures from the on campus course. Those who have seem properly designed distance education and e-learning materials will be very disappointed in the poor quality of the Stanford material. But it need to be kept in mind that Stanford is not attempting e-learning.

For the first time in its history, Stanford is offering some of its most popular engineering classes free of charge to students and educators around the world. Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE) expands the Stanford experience to students and educators online. A computer and an Internet connection is all you need. View lecture videos, access reading lists and other course handouts, take quizzes and tests, and communicate with other SEE students, all at your convenience.

This fall, SEE launches its programming by offering one of Stanford’s most popular sequences: the three-course Introduction to Computer Science taken by the majority of Stanford’s undergraduates and seven more advanced courses in artificial intelligence and electrical engineering.

Stanford Engineering Everywhere offers:

  • Anytime and anywhere access to complete lecture videos via streaming or downloaded media.
  • Full course materials including syllabi, handouts, homework, and exams.
  • Online social networking with fellow SEE students.
  • Support for PCs, Macs and mobile computing devices.

From: Stanford Engineering Everywhere, Stanford University, 2008

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